“This Is The Sixth Version”: Here’s Why The Matrix 5 Rebooting The Franchise Is Impossible

The Matrix 5 is happening, but it might be impossible for it to reboot the franchise according to The Matrix’s own lore. A little more than two years after The Matrix Resurrections premiered to divisive reviews and poor box office performance, The Matrix franchise is set to return with a brand-new film. Drew Goddard will direct the film, with Lana Wachowski serving as executive producer. Not much has been revealed about The Matrix 5’s story, but the project is being described as a new addition to the saga’s cinematic canon.

Currently, the most likely scenarios are that The Matrix 5 is either a standalone film set in the same continuity as the previous ones or a full reboot. While either option would be a trick thing to pull off, The Matrix 5 will have a massive challenge ahead if it wants to reboot the series. This is because the concept of a “Matrix reboot” already exists within the Matrix movies themselves.

The Matrix Franchise Can’t Reboot (Because The Matrix Simulation Does)

“Reboots” are part of The Matrix canon

The Matrix universe is so tied to the concept of reboots – as in different iterations of the Matrix simulation – that it would be impossible for Matrix 5 to truly reboot the franchise. Any attempts to start The Matrix from scratch would just feel like another iteration of the simulation, regardless of how different it would be from previous movies. To put things in perspective, the announcement of Matrix 5 has led many to question whether this new film will take place in the new cycle of the Matrix launched at the end of Resurrections.

While it all comes down to semantics, the Matrix franchise has dealt with reboots and new versions of characters from an in-universe perspective ever since The Matrix Reloaded. For example, regardless of how different The Animatrix’s shorts look compared to the theatrical movies, it can be argued that they all happened in a different corner of the simulation. The same applies to comics and video games, further suggesting how difficult it will be to actually reboot the franchise. Unless explicitly said otherwise, Matrix 5 might simply be just another iteration of the Matrix simulation.

The Matrix’s Lore Prevents The Franchise From Truly Starting Afresh

A new Matrix can be just a new iteration of the simulation

The events of the first three Matrix movies take place in the sixth iteration of the simulation, a major reveal Neo and the audiences only learn about in Reloaded. The confusing conversation between Neo and the Architect created a lot of questions, but it made clear that everything Neo and Morpheus believed in was a lie. More than 600 years had passed since humanity torched the skies – not 100 – and that version of Keanu Reeves’ character was not the first “One.” Neo as presented in The Matrix was actually the sixth version of The One.

The Matrix’s lore was put together in a way that makes it very difficult, not to say impossible, to truly start afresh. The simulation featured in Resurrections was quite different from the one in the original trilogy, yet it was still another iteration of the Matrix. No matter the aesthetic or the tone Matrix 5 goes with, those familiar with the franchise will likely perceive this film as just another in-universe reboot of the simulation. If Matrix 5 truly wants to be a fresh start for the franchise, it needs to make it clear how it connects to previous films.

The Matrix 5 Has Two Choices: Prequel Or Sequel

The Matrix 5 should not try to create a new canon

Assuming The Matrix 5 will not try to ignore everything that came before, the film has essentially two options – it can either be a prequel or a sequel to the original films. That is not to say Matrix 5 must be limited by what the previous movies have done, only that it might have to make its placement in the franchise’s timeline clear to avoid any confusion. For example, a Matrix prequel set in any of the five iterations of the simulation not depicted in the movies would be an interesting approach.

Nothing guarantees that the Architect was even telling the truth when he mentioned the five previous versions of the Matrix, meaning there is plenty of untapped potential when it comes to stories set before The Matrix (1999). A sequel to Resurrections could also work, and it would not even have to address the divisive fourth installment. The Matrix still exists by the end of Resurrections and may have gone through countless reboots by the time the events of The Matrix 5 happen. Hopefully, The Matrix 5 will make the most of the unique possibilities offered by the franchise’s rich lore.

Stream The Matrix Resurrections on Max